


to kale or not to kale

by rockiedogs



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, F/F, Identity Reveal, it's not, post 3x20, this was supposed to be a funny crack fix-it fic but uh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-10 07:08:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14732258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rockiedogs/pseuds/rockiedogs
Summary: Kara was going to tell Lena the truth. She might lose her forever either way, so it would be better to have everything out in the open. Lena looked at Kara with those eyes, somehow both piercing and inviting, like she knew what Kara was going to say and if she could just spit it out, nothing would ever be wrong between them again.ORIn which Kara reveals her deepest secret to Lena.





	1. this isn't about the kale

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys! this is a bit of a departure from my usual crack writing, but i really wanted to write something about the last two episodes. i feel so out of the sg loop these days!
> 
> whatever you're expecting, this isn't it. or maybe it is. let me know, and i hope you like it!

Lena’s words kept rolling around in Kara’s head, distracting her from her latest article, a follow-up piece to the cult she helped stop. Again. She – as Supergirl – had acted just like Lena’s mother. Lena was right about that. And if Lena never trusted her again, Kara would be absolutely broken, but she would understand. Yesterday Lena even said that she and Supergirl weren’t even friends! Kara’s heart ached for her best friend, and she wanted things to go back to the way things were, before all of the secrets and lies got in between their bond (one Kara used to think was unbreakable.)

Kara was going to tell Lena the truth. She might lose her forever either way, so it would be better to have everything out in the open.

So, that evening, before flying off to some rock floating through space with Mon-El, Kara stopped by Lena’s penthouse. The elevator up seemed to take longer than normal, yet somehow ended too quickly. She steeled herself before knocking on the door.

Lena opened it a few moments later. “Kara!” she exclaimed, looking both surprised and confused. “Seeing you two days in a row? I must be one lucky woman,” she said as she pulled Kara into a tight hug.

Kara breathed in Lena’s scent and held on a little longer and a little tighter than usual, hoping this wouldn’t be the last time. “I missed you, Lena.”

“I missed you too. Not that I don’t always love seeing you, but what brings you here today?”

Kara let go of Lena. “There’s actually something I need to tell you. Something important.”

A look of concern flashed across Lena’s face, followed by something else… hope? Kara took this as her cue to keep talking.

Suddenly aware of the heat, and the fact that her legs might give out the minute she said another word, Kara instead said, “Let’s sit.”

The concern in Lena’s face only grew, but she silently led them to a couch.

Once seated, Kara began again, “I—” This was going to be harder than she thought.

“Kara, it’s okay, you know you can tell me anything,” Lena said. And she looked at Kara with those eyes, somehow both piercing and inviting, like she knew what Kara was going to say and if she could just spit it out, nothing would ever be wrong between them again. Kara felt calmer, but her nerves still weren’t quite settled.

“You’re right. Lena, I…” _come one Kara, it’s just three little words._ “I hate kale.” Whew. What a relief to have her darkest secret off her chest.

Lena’s hand, which had been rubbing Kara’s knee, froze. Her soft gaze turned cold.

“Lena, I’m— I’m sorry. I know it’s your favorite food, and it means so much to you, but I just couldn’t lie to you any longer, knowing how much it would hurt,” Kara pleaded. She didn’t think Lena would take this well, but their conversation was going much worse than she could have anticipated.

“Kara.” Lena said, an edge to her voice Kara had only ever heard when Lena was talking to investors, or Supergirl in recent days. Their eyes locked, and Kara wanted to look away. “I’m not mad because you don’t like kale.”

Kara blinked in surprise. “You’re not?”

“No! I’m mad because you don’t take me seriously! I’m having a lot of trouble trusting people these days, and you’re making fun of me for it!”

“I’m not, I—”

“Or, you think so little of me that you thought I would end our friendship – something that clearly means more to me than it does to you – over _kale_? Something I already knew you didn’t like?”

Lena was standing now, towering over Kara, who just shrunk deeper into the couch.

“You already knew?” Kara asked.

“Yes, I already knew! You weren’t very subtle about it the first time I made you try it, and you haven’t eaten it since! I can’t believe how stupid you thought I was.”

“I don’t think you’re stupid,” Kara said, meekly trying to defend herself.

“Maybe not, but that’s how it feels to me. I really thought…” Lena trailed off, the anger in her subduing to sadness.

“What did you think?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

If Kara thought her heart was broken before, now it was crushed beyond repair. “Of course it matters.”

Lena took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She kept breathing, in and out, in and out. Kara wanted to get up and hug her, comfort her, but she knew that Lena just needed to think by herself right now.

With her eyes still closed, and her voice flat, Lena asked, “Is there anything else you’ve been keeping from me?”

Kara got the feeling this was her last chance to come clean. The panic set back in. She hadn’t planned on coming out to Lena tonight, not about being Supergirl or about the fact that her feelings were just a tad too strong to be completely platonic, but, well, plans change.

“If you have nothing more to say, I’m going to ask you to leave,” Lena stated calmly, though Kara could hear her heart still racing.

Kara stared at her a moment longer. If Lena knew she was Supergirl, then telling her now would be the only way to save their friendship. If Lena didn’t know, and Kara told her, it would surely ruin it. Kara only wished she had J’onn’s mind-reading abilities. Everything would be so much easier then.

“Kara.”

Well, there was only one way to find out which way things would go. Kara opened her mouth.

“I’m Supergirl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHEW what a rough time for those gals! sorry this was so short. i tried to make it longer, but there was only so much to say!
> 
> please leave comments, i love reading them! how do you think lena reacted? has she known all along, or is her friendship with kara now in the same place as hers with supergirl: nonexistent?
> 
> also, if ur feeling it, follow me on twitter @leaningluthor!


	2. maybe kale can save the day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sobbing and frustrated, Kara smashed the phone in her hand. Except the phone wasn’t in her hand, and all she did was make a fist that nearly broke her own knuckles. She saw her phone 200 feet below her, plummeting to the ground. That explains why she has no idea what Lena was saying for the past few seconds.
> 
> OR
> 
> Kara prepares for her mission and gets a phone call from Lena.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey what's up i guess i wrote another chapter! i wasn't planning on writing any more, but a few people asked for one, so i did anyway! no beta for this work

Supergirl flew high above the skyscrapers of National City, her head literally in the clouds. Her face was cold where the wind had blown her tears off, but she figured she deserved it. How could she have been so stupid? She’d been making a lot of terrible decisions lately, but this one really took the cake. As she climbed higher above the clouds, needing to get away from a city she once loved but was now filled with memories all too painful, she remembered how her last meeting with Lena had ended.

“Get out,” Lena had said, her deceptively calm voice barely audible as her whole body trembled. Lena refused to look at Kara, though Kara longed to see her eyes just one more time.

“Lena, I—” Kara was going to defend herself, going to explain everything. She couldn’t lose Lena, not like this, not ever. If she’d told her sooner, if she’d handled that conversation more carefully, if she hadn’t brought up the kale. If Lena would give her a second chance.

But Lena didn’t, and how could Kara blame her? When she found out Mon-El had been lying to her throughout their whole relationship, she didn’t want to see him ever again, and that was far less personal than her own lies to Lena.

 _Oh shit. Mon-El._ Kara still had a mission to complete, a time-sensitive one, and he was unfortunately a part of it. The thought of spending all that time alone with him sickened Kara, but they all needed to make sacrifices to save the world. And maybe Kara deserved this, too.

Just as she was about to land, her phone rang. She pulled it out of her boot pocket to check the ID, nearly crashing into a lamppost as she did it. It was Lena.

“Hello?” Kara said into the phone, quickly swerving back upwards.

“Hello Kara. Or should I say, Supergirl,” came Lena’s bitter voice.

“Lena, it’s,” Kara was going to cry again, “it’s good to hear from you.”

“Is it now.”

Kara frowned. “Lena, you know that I always love to hear from you…”

Lena snorted.

“…but why are you calling me now? I thought you hated me.” Was that another tear dripping down her face? Kara hoped not. She almost got hypothermia last time.

“I do, but like I said before, we need to work together. I never got the chance to give you the coordinates, and I don’t have a way to contact Mon-El, so…” Lena’s voice trailed off. Kara couldn’t read her tone.

And her words stung, more than the bitter frostbite that was setting back into her cheeks. She listened to hear what else Lena might say before she let her emotions dictate her reactions once again, but even with superhearing, Lean’s voice was slipping away from her. Sobbing and frustrated, Kara smashed the phone in her hand.

Except the phone wasn’t in her hand, and all she did was make a fist that nearly broke her own knuckles. She saw her phone 200 feet below her, plummeting to the ground.

That explains why she has no idea what Lena was saying for the past few seconds.

“Fuck,” Kara grumbled, diving for her phone before it hit someone on the ground.

She caught it 10 feet above the same lamppost she herself had nearly hit just a few minutes ago.

“…and if you eat another kale salad for me, maybe we can be friends again. If you catch my drift,” Kara heard Lena say.

Had Lena been rambling through that whole freefall? Well, Lena wasn’t the one falling, but surely, she would have heard the wind rushing through Kara’s mic? And Kara most certainly did not catch Lena’s drift. Kale was disgusting, and whatever metaphor Lena was using, Kara had missed the entire explanation.

“Lena, hi, sorry, it’s Kara. I sort of dropped my phone mid-flight,” _no use denying the truth now_ , “could you repeat that?”

Lena sighed, “How much did you miss?”

“Um, all of it?”

“Look, Kara, I’m not interested in being friends with someone who… Wait, where are you?”

Snapping out of her sudden heartbreak for the third time that day, Kara looked around at her surroundings. She had wandered back to Lena’s apartment. Apparently.

“I’m uh, nowhere.” Why did she say that?

“Are you sure?” Lena asked, but Kara could tell it wasn’t a question. “I can see you, you know.”

It was then that Kara caught Lena’s eye, staring at her through the window.

“No you can’t. I’m invisible.”

“Kara.”

“Can I come in?” Kara already knew what the answer would be, and this current conversation clearly wasn’t helping her case, but she asked anyway.

“No, you can’t. Not tonight.”

Lena sounded so sad when she said that, and Kara wanted nothing more than to hug her and punch whoever broke her heart. She couldn’t do that though, since she herself was the culprit. But Lena had said, “‘Not tonight,’” which meant maybe that meant tomorrow night she could try again. Maybe there was still hope.

“Okay, Lena. I have to, you know, get that space rock now, but call me when I’m back?” Kara was pushing her luck, and she knew it.

Lena’s answer was to hang up the phone. Kara flew away.

“I miss you,” she heard Lena whisper. She barely caught it, but it made her landing lighter.

And when she got into the spaceship with Mon-El, she realized neither of them had any idea where they were going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aww i'm still sad. this didn't help at all. what did you guys think? should i keep writing this? i don't think i will, but if anyone has any ideas, throw them my way!
> 
> i'm so excited to see krypton in the next episode!


End file.
